Rangers appoint DUP councillor as Head of Communications and Media Relations

[Bill 13,717]

1 hour ago, forlanssister said:

Occasionally everyone's mask slips.  

I can't deny you might be right. I can only stay I saw no sign it face to face but that's pretty thin proof right enough.

[onevision 1,436]

11 hours ago, Bill said:

Neil Cameron is a Celtic fan. I can tell you that because he told me. I can also tell you he's no bigot, at least no more so than you or me. But he is a newspaper journalist who writes what he knows will be published. It's a job not a conviction, I don't know why so many people find that hard to accept. You don't have to be a bigot because someone doesn't agree with what you write. There are plenty of real bigots in the Scottish media, I honestly don't believe he's one of them.

Anyone who disagrees with another persons convictions and beliefs is a bigot, no? 

[Bill 13,717]

1 hour ago, onevision said:

Anyone who disagrees with another persons convictions and beliefs is a bigot, no? 

No

[Bluedell 5,329]

Anyone who states that someone isn't suitable for a non-religious job because of their religious beliefs is a bigot in my book.

 

 

[JohnMc 2,463]

I think you have to acknowledge the post he's taking up in all this and why that matters. He's not been appointed the head of catering, or finance or head of facilities management, he's been put in change of PR and so he'll be in daily contact with the media, so we have to expect the media to take an interest in him and question his background. This man's job will involve working with, and managing, the media. In the same way eyebrows were raised when Traynor got the gig so they're being raised now. Does no one think that's worth considering before it's written off as the work of bigots? 

 

A question for you, who is head of PR at Parkhead, or Aberdeen, or Hibs? Or indeed at Man U or Liverpool? I guarantee most of us have no clue and that's how it should be. Good PR is accomplished below the surface and away from the spotlight. Supporters have (rightly) complained about our PR for years, and that's because it's not been managed at all well. PR is a skill, and for an organisation as high profile as Rangers working with a large local media demanding content and access that requires experience and know-how. I'm not sure how being a local councillor in Belfast gives you any of that. My concern is Mr Graham sees us a stepping stone on his way to getting a chance to stand in a safe seat for his current employers. Having a couple of years at Rangers on his CV won't do his chances of that any harm. 

 

Employing someone who is closely associated with any political party was always going to cause a stir. Politics is polarising, even more so than football. Whatever party he'd represented he'd have drawn criticism from some. Having lived in Northern Ireland I never felt the DUP were any good at PR, indeed I felt they were pretty poor at it, the only group I can think of worse than them at PR was/is the Orange Order. I doubt Mr Graham was personally responsible for that to be fair but it's the background he's coming from. 

 

Anyway, my concern over this appointment isn't that he's an Orangeman or must support most of the DUP's policies, some of which are anathema to me, he's entitled to his own views whatever I might think of them. No, my concern is the direction this suggests we're taking as a club PR wise. At a time when I think the club needs to be building bridges and making friends, I fear Mr Graham's skills lie in the opposite direction. I suspect many of our support won't share my concerns, and that this appointment is being made with them in mind. Fine, but in my opinion that's a very short-sighted strategy. Rangers remain toothless in influencing Scottish football and indeed greater society, I don't see how this appointment will address that. 

[Bluedell 5,329]

36 minutes ago, JohnMc said:

At a time when I think the club needs to be building bridges and making friends, I fear Mr Graham's skills lie in the opposite direction.

What do you base that assumption on?

[Bluedell 5,329]

What chance does the guy have if our own fans are writing him off before he's in the door and prejudging his approach despite apparently knowing nothing of his abilities to do the job?

[Bill 13,717]

Some of this is no better than the rush-to-criticise that's been attributed to Neil Cameron. I've always believed that winners are judged at the finishing line, not five yards from the starting pistol. A year from now it may be possible to offer an informed opinion on the sense of this appointment.

[JohnMc 2,463]

1 hour ago, Bluedell said:

What do you base that assumption on?

It's a guess based on 20 years working in Northern Ireland and a career in professional communications. Delighted if I'm wrong. 

[Uilleam 5,395]

Historically, people - eg politicos, civil servants, media- found it difficult to deal with Ulster Unionists, for the reason that their core, some might argue only,  principle was non-negotiable, and paramount; everything was seen in relation to that rock-like, fundamental position.

Whether power sharing, and the Chuckle Bros, now both deceased, have changed things remains, I think, something of a moot point. 

Nevertheless, if Mr Graham transfers some of the elements of Unionist intransigence and single mindedness to the representation and promotion of RFC, then he will, I think, do for me.

 

 

Edited March 19, 2020 by Uilleam